May 9 2025 - Climbing Injury, Started Job, Then Surgery
November, 2024. I had gotten back into rock climbing relatively consistently, and yet something wasn't right. I took a long break from climbing through September and some of October, but by the end of November I felt like I was finally back into it. More importantly, I managed to push myself up the route of a V4. Prior to this, my max was V3...
I had to come back to complete the V4. I attempted it at the end of my session, and couldn't do it, so I came back the next day. I hardly had a warmup and went for the V4, succeeding after a few tries. I drew blood, but with the climbers-high in my veins, I climbed the route again. It was exhilerating...
Unfortunately, I pushed my left shoulder a bit too hard. I decided to take it easy, and in the following days, I tried stretching it out without success. The pain wasn't always there, but I knew I wouldn't climb on it
Coincidentally, I interviewed that week and started my job at the climbing gym. This was a second job for me, and it was one I was seriously excited about because I wanted to develop my skills on the wall and surround myself with like-minded individuals. This turned out to be the biggest mistake that I couldn't have avoided.
Over the next couple months, my shoulder declined. At first I was waiting for it to get better, but it didn't. Then it started to hurt more frequently, to the point I couldn't complete my job duties. I felt pathetic, talking to climbers about the walls that surrounded us. I should've been all over those walls, yet I couldn't even sweep the floors without an excess of pain.
I got an x-ray done with nothing conclusive. I tried 6 weeks of physical therapy, and they couldn't figure out what was wrong. I kept getting worse. I got an MRI and got surgery scheduled. At this point, it was the end of April, and I had to quit my second job. There was no hope in my ability to climb, and I was exhausted. I spent 4+ months of my life hoping and praying I could just recover and climb like I used to, also hoping I wouldn't have to leave my coworkers under this situation, yet here I am, arm in a sling, sitting at home... Feels terrible...
Good news? - When they went into my shoulder, they found out that my labrum wasn't torn like they thought, and the doctor was able to clean out a bunch of excess scar tissue. I think the injury may have been related to a fall back in February 2024, but I'm not certain. I don't know if I should or will climb again, since I've experienced so much injury in the last year. I've tried taking care of myself the best way I know how, and I feel like I'm constantly pushed back down. Physically, I've made no progress from when I started my journey toward health 6 years ago...
Sep 1 2024 - The Vertical Mile Challenge has Ended
Well no news is not good news. Shortly after writing my last post, I injured my right arm. It didn't hurt bad enough that I stopped climbing, but I could tell it was getting worse everytime I pushed myself at the gym. Because of that, I had to slow down and take a break. That meant I chose to not complete the vertical mile. Regardless, it was still a fun Summer of climbing!
The guy I'm dating is a phenomenal climber, despite also being new to it. Because of that, I've been able to have a gym-partner everytime I go. This means more belayed routes, and an overall better time :)
Also partway through the Summer, there was a bouldering competition at the gym. We showed up after it was over, but we got to climb all the routes which had very specific scores tied to them, and we got to track our own points just for the fun of it... It was great!!
Otherwise, I've been more sick lately with my Crohn's Disease, so I'm just doing my best to stay healthy and go to the gym when I can. I'm still impressing myself whenever I go, so I'm happy :)
Jun 20 2024 - The Vertical Mile Challenge has Begun
Naturally, my gym likes to be involved in supporting the local rock-climbing community, and one thing they've started recently was the "Vertical Mile Challenge" which runs from the beginning of June to the end of August, and the goal is to complete 150 climbing routes during those three months... And at the end, if you do it, you get a free T-shirt!!! :D As of the 20th though, I'm lagging behind a bit due to a slight injury in my right arm, but I'm still trucking along with a solid 22 routes this month. Unfortunately I need about 50 by the 30th in order to be on pace... But I'm feeling confident :)
The reason it's called the Vertical Mile is because 150 routes at 45 feet tall, (The height of the gym), is over 6,000 feet in distance. If you average in the shorter routes, then 150 climbs does equate to climbing a vertical mile, which I think is so cool!
Jun 20 2024 - First Post!
I'm excited! I have finally made this blog into reality! Now I can put all my thoughts into words when I come home from the gym, hurray :) For my first post however, I'll add a couple key points from the story of my life. At the beginning of February this year, (after a few trips in January), I purchased a year-long membership to my local indoor-rock-climbing gym. I didn't know the first thing about technique; all I knew was that it felt like a fun and ergonomic way to workout, which is far different than the setting of a regular gym for me. I'd been weight lifting off an on for 5 years, but I was in a rut, and this was the change I needed.
After I fell in love with climbing, I pursued a job at the gym to which I was interviewed and ready to hire, but at that same time, my first (priority) job switched my schedule to make it impossible to work both jobs. I was rather devastated, but I'm still very happy whenever I'm grabbing my gym bag and heading out the door.
I used to have a gym partner. We were dating, we broke up, now I go alone. End of story. However, as a member I am allowed to bring one free guest per month, which led me to start bringing my coworkers and friends to the gym with me. I love having the opportunity to see my friends climb because they always end up really enjoying the sport, and they are always impressed by my strength, (which doesn't show well outside of the gym, unfortunately). Sometimes I like to show off... Lol
I'm still figuring out the technical terms, but regarding my Bouldering, I'm around a V3-V4 level. I'm comfortable with almost any V3, but I'm slowly progressing toward V4 routes... As for Climbing, I can't currently climb more than a 5.10 route. I don't know what that means exactly, but I know that those are mostly rated "intermediate" at my gym, and I have the most fun doing them.
My goal is to push myself up more-challenging routes, and to develop my knowledge, technique, strength, and skill through climbing. I have already seen progress, and I hope to document more soon!